“Tough times demand tougher selling!” That seems to be a mantra many people discuss about selling in a difficult economy.
And tougher selling is, sometimes, interpreted of higher activity levels, more outreaches, higher volumes, more and more frequent touches. Some of it focuses on more aggressive messaging. Some of it focuses on strengthening value propositions, finding ways to increase the value customers might realize through a change effort.
But buyers are getting tougher too!
What they will buy, what they can buy will be very focused. They will not respond to anything that is not mandatory or critical to their success today! Regardless how powerful our value proposition might be, how much value the customer might realize, their focus is on what they must do to get through the tough economy.
There are things they cannot defer–regardless of the economy. Anything having to do with compliance, regulatory, or similar issues, where failure to do so may have dire consequences. One client is seeing great opportunity in helping their customers comply with regulatory changes that have been mandated by the government. While what this client sells does not directly address the regulatory issues, the sellers are connecting the dots to how the change will help these customers more easily address these issues.
Other things they cannot defer are those that are critical to their survival–or just getting through. What must they address now, that if they fail to, they may not be in a position to address in the future?
Every seller is pitching, “We can save you money/make you more efficient/improve productivity…..” Every seller is saying, “We know it’s tough, we will offer you a discount….” The only deals that are meaningful to the customer is the deals they MUST do now. They can defer productivity improvements if there are more critical issues they must deal with today. No amount of discount, will cause them to spend money, if they aren’t required to make a change.
Some sellers are pitching, “We can help you grow, to produce more revenue…” But if their customers aren’t buying, or compelled to buy, our customers will wait, focusing on what they must address to deal with these economic times. (But perhaps an intriguing strategy is, “How can we help you help your customers who are compelled to do something today?”)
Regardless how great our products; how new, shiny, cool, and innovative they might be; what great logos are using our products; what results they are getting; these messages will fall on deaf ears.
Take some time and think: What changes are our customers compelled to make regardless of the economy and how does what we sell help them make those changes? Which customers face those compelling issues and will not survive unless they address them?
If you can’t answer these questions. If you cannot identify the customers that are compelled to change, they are highly unlikely to buy, regardless of your value proposition.
If the consequences of doing nothing are not directly attached to their ability to make it through the next few years, then they will do nothing–and that’s probably the right answer for them.
And if you cannot answer these questions, tighten your belts, it’s going to be a rough ride.
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